Beechworth Secondary College (BSC) has seen its first year 12 graduates complete their studies through the combination of their VCE Vocational Major and VCE studies with a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship this year.

In August 2023, BSC combined with the Head Start program, which allows students to complete an apprenticeship or traineeship alongside their senior secondary education.

The four year 12 graduates (Millie Rivers, Zoe Merritt, Alex Beatson and Lachie Villani) completed a range of respective traineeships and apprenticeships, including hospitality, solid plastering, animal studies and early childhood education.

BSC Head Start coordinator Steve Guley said programs like these “offer real-options that keep students engaged, build their confidence and prepare them for life beyond school".

“Previously students would leave school to pick up an apprenticeship, whereas now you can stay in school and start your apprenticeship,” he said.

Mr Guley said this allows for students to be more mature when they start their apprenticeship and traineeships.

“Students are just that little bit older, and they have the support of the school behind them,” he said.

“They’re more ready to be out in the workforce.”

BSC pathways coordinator Karl Mahr said they are seeing huge benefits for kids in terms of their commitment to their traineeship and apprenticeships.

“One of the big successes of the program is the completion rate of their traineeships and apprenticeships,” he said.

“Apprenticeships on average only have about a 50 to 60 per cent completion rate, but going through this program we are getting those completion rates up to 80 to 90 per cent completion rate.

"That’s a huge benefit of this program, there’s no wasted training.”

Mr Mahr said the school “really wants vocational training to be an integral part of a student getting through year 12, even if they are doing an apprenticeship, we really are promoting them to finish year 12".

“The program allows the student to see that they can finish things, getting through year 12 is hard, and it can be a bit of a fight to try and keep them here,” he said.

“Once they got into their SBAT it was no longer a fight.”

The balance between school and apprenticeships/traineeships varies for students, but BSC is helping students to juggle that balance.

Mr Guley said the program works as “a partnership between school, employers, students and their families".

“The amount of support that the student can get, and the amount of understanding that all parties involved have is the really important part of the program.”

Last year BSC saw students go full time after year 11, an improvement from years previous where students wanting to complete traineeships and apprenticeships generally left school after year 10.

But Mr Guley said that the school’s goal is “to get all students to complete year 12 where we can”.